Qiuhua Zhang Receives Grant from the Knights Templar Eye Foundation

Representatives of the Knights Templar Eye Foundation are very appreciative of the research efforts of Qiuhua Zhang, PhD, a postdoctoral research trainee in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC). The foundation has so much belief in her work that it recently awarded Dr. Zhang a $60,000 grant to support her efforts.

The focus of Dr. Zhang’s research is the optimization of superselective intraophthalmic artery chemotherapy (SSIOAC), a technique designed to deliver high intraocular concentrations of chemotherapy to treat extensive disease while minimizing system exposure. Though SSIOAC is very effective against retinoblastoma, it has had its own vision-threatening adverse effects.

Dr. Zhang hopes to optimize the SSIOAC treatment so that one day it may be the standard treatment for retinoblastoma, instead of conventional chemotherapy, the current treatment option, which also has adverse effects.

“This Knights Templar donation will allow Dr. Zhang to continue her work on a novel treatment for retinoblastoma as well as move toward her long-term career goal to become an independent researcher,” stated her mentor Jena Steinle, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Ophthalmology at UTHSC.

The Knights Templar Eye Foundation is a nonprofit that provides funds for research, surgical treatment and hospitalization to those who suffer from diseases or injury to the eyes. For more information, visit www.ktef.org